TAYLOR’S TAKE ON THE WEEK IN SPORTS TECH: We caught up with two big names in the NBA world to get an update on Seattle’s chances of getting professional basketball back in the Emerald City.

My colleague Todd Bishop sat down with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, now the owner of the L.A. Clippers, and discussed the city’s prospects for bringing back the Sonics, which left town in 2008. Ballmer noted that Seattle is “the most affluent city in America” without an NBA team, but noted that transportation issues around KeyArena could pose an issue. Can technology help?

Separately, I ran into former NBA commissioner David Stern last week at CES in Las Vegas. “I do think that if they expand, or ever move a team, Seattle, my guess is, is first in line,” Stern said.

Two big NFL playoff games on Sunday, with Jags at Patriots at 12:05 p.m. PT and Vikings at Eagles at 3:40 p.m. (you can stream for free via the Yahoo Sports app). ESPN wrote about Philadelphia’s use of analytics for making in-game decisions on offense and defense. There’s a lot of math involved, and much of the work is done before the game or even before the season starts.

Also at CES: Twitter COO Anthony Noto spoke on a Turner Sports panel and said streaming sticks like Chromecast and Fire TV will go extinct in five years. He also said esports will become a sanctioned NCAA sport; WNBA commissioner Lisa Borders took it one step further, predicting that esports will be an Olympic sport.

Verizon and T-Mobile are touting their network capacity around Minneapolis in preparation for the Super Bowl next month.

The NFLPA renewed its partnership with opendorse, a marketing platform that lets athletes share content on social media.

What to watch this weekend: As noted above, the NFL conference championships on Sunday: Jags at Patriots at 12:05 p.m. PT on CBS and Vikings at Eagles at 3:40 p.m. on FOX. You can stream for free via the Yahoo Sports app; it’s part of Verizon’s new deal with the NFL.

Taylor Soper is a GeekWire staff reporter who covers a wide variety of tech assignments, including emerging startups in Seattle and Portland, the sharing economy and the intersection of technology and sports. Follow him @taylor_soper and email taylor@geekwire.com.